Sharing some Hornsby Market love with Lisa

How and when did you first discover Hornsby Markets

Wow, it feels like I have always gone to them.  Four years or so?  I found them by change just trawling around Hornsby with small kidlettes in tow.

What was it that impressed you most about them

What impressed me most was finding beautiful artisan bread.   Having moved from the inner city, it was great to see yummy sourdough and farm fresh produce available at Hornsby and not have to go elsewhere.

Are you a browse, chat and see where the day takes you type of chick or are you a "got my list, know what I need and where to get it" shopper

I am a mix between both.  I do have a certain few stalls I frequent regularly to pick up my favourite products, but I will also have a look and a chat (time permitting).

Do you have a favourite recipe you like to cook using produce bought at market

Fresh fruit and veggies make me a very happy gal!!! I love making a Lebanese bean dish using green beans I often buy and the other week I made a gorgeous gluten free plum cake using some beautiful Sierra plums I procured.

check out Lisa's blog for this amazing recipe "here" and while you're at there are loads more inspiring little pearls so have a scroll through and get inspired!

For those who are yet to discover the delights of Hornsby Market, what 5 words would you use to encourage them to get in and give it a go

Vibrant

Brilliant Bread

Fresh

Exciting

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What more can we say!  Another devotee with some inspiring recipes using produce bought at market!  We LOVE that!  So if you haven't yet, reckon it might just be about time to get yourselves to Hornsby Mall on a Thursday and have a wander, a sample, take a friend, have some great hot food while you decide what you will be buying from market to take home and trust us when we say you will taste the difference!

5 Questions with Putrinos

When did Putrino's make their debut with Organic Food Markets

G & M Putrino have been part of the Organic Food Market family for around 10 years which is quite an achievement!

You are constantly busy, always with a smile and nothing ever being too much trouble. What separates markets like Hornsby, from a retail outlet or a supermarket chain.

Always having loads quality fresh produce at hand and having that personal interaction with customers...always keeps it interesting and definitely keeps us on our toes!

Market life is not for the faint-hearted.  How early does you day start and is there a process to make it a smooth set up and pack down

It's always a very early start.  Firstly we need to make sure we have all the equipment packed, the produce is protected for the journey, ending with a final check to ensure it's easy to unload when arriving at market and then easy to load up at end of day. 

As a stallholder, how does the fact that your fan base is so loyal they will shop whatever the weather, reinforce the fact that you are doing right not just by yourselves but more importantly by the customer

We always make sure we show up in any weather because we know our customers rely on us being there and we absolutely appreciate that they also make the effort to and shop no matter what the weather.  It's what makes it all worthwhile.

Obviously when the weather is great we do incredibly well, but when it's not then we don't.  Luckily for us, the weather is finer more than it's not.

For anyone who has yet to discover the delights of the Putrino crew at Hornsby Market, what 5 words would you use to get em in and have a sample

Come and have a taste!

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As the warmer months are here, so do the berries and stone fruit appear (hey!  we rhymed!!!) so it's THE perfect time to take on the Putrino advice of going to Hornsby Market and having a taste...we promise you will NOT be disappointed!

Free Range Butcher

When and how did the Free Range Butcher start at Hornsby Market

Hornsby Market is a really special market for us.  It was the very first farmer's market that we ever attended.  Our business formally commenced trading on 13 November 2008 at Hornsby Markets.

That first day was a real family affair with myself (Ben), my wife Alison and my Dad (Pete) on hand to set up the first stall and start selling our produce to customers.

We've learnt a lot since that very first day, but our business mission - to produce meat that is Ethical, Sustainable and Traceable - remains the same.

Obviously there has been an incredibly big change in the way consumers not only select their meat but the ways in which they prepare it.  What has been one of the most "unusual", shall we say, on-sharing of a recipe

It's been interesting to watch how our customers buying habits have changed over the last 5 years.  I think in part it's driven by new products we introduce, prompts or incentives to try something that they haven't had before and the explosion of TV shows centred around cooking.

Some of our customers ask for tips and recipe ideas when they buy from us, but a lot of them are great cooks/amateur chefs and will often share their plans with us for whatever it is they've purchased.

As you can imagine we do a lot of talking about food and cooking at the markets!  It's great for us as we're always learning too and pass that info on to other customers.

I remember one day when we had some free range pork neck fillets on special, a regular customer came in, grabbed on and said "this will be perfect for poaching in milk".  We were intrigued, asked for all the details and then shared them with all the other customers who bought the same product on that day.  And we made it for dinner ourselves that night - it was fantastic!

Your range includes some SENSATIONAL gluten free products.  Was this done consciously or did it evolve due to demand

Even before we started selling our produce at the markets, we knew there was a demand for gluten free products, however once we started talking directly to our customers about gluten free products, the extent of the need became really obvious.

We started off producing gluten free sausages and now do gluten free rissoles

We took another step too ...way ahead of the supermarkets....by producing a plain beef sausage that is both gluten free and preservative free.  These sausages are now one of our biggest sellers and are particularly appealing to parents who are keen to avoid feeding preservatives to their kids.  It's been 3 years since we first produced preservative free sausages and they're more popular than ever!

We're always introducing new products - sometimes it will be something that we've discovered or wanted to try, or it could be driven by customer requests and suggestions.

As you do a few of our other markets, is there a noticeable difference in the clientele or is it once a Free Range Butcher lover always a Free Range Butcher lover

There's definitely different customers at each market.  Some markets are more skewed towards singles and couples, whereas others are real family affairs with Mum and Dad bringing the kids along to do the weekly shop (and get some yummy treats!).

What's common about all the markets thought is how lovely the customers are and how interested they are in learning about what they're buying and eating.

As producers it's really rewarding to know that your customers want to know more about what you do and how you do it.

Can you sum up in 5 words why The Free Range Butcher is the best butcher around

Grassfed meat direct from farmers

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Now it would be most remiss for us not to include a photo of Ben who always willingly poses when asked, even if it means adorning a flower behind his ear.

Which goes to show that The Free Range Butchers are more than happy to answer any questions asked of them about their amazing meats even if adorning an accessory or two!

We love them for it, you will too and if you haven't you MUST try their gluten free snags and rissoles....and their lamb...simply melts in the mouth.

A maaasive thank you to Ben, Ali & Pete for sharing some time and talking about their passion for good grass-fed, preservative free, sustainable and traceable meat.